Please help find Blanket

ELSPETH BLANCHE DUNCAN

AS children, for the annual Christmas Eve family gathering hosted at Auntie Pat’s and Uncle Ivan’s house in Tunapuna, my sisters, our cousins and I would gather in the backyard while the adults chatted and limed in the verandah to the front. There in the garden, amidst Auntie Pat’s treasured plants, we would spend hours telling stories, playing games and lighting starlights, excited by their crackling, effusive sparks.

Today, sparklers are not a major feature on festive nights. Children whose parents allow it probably go into the yard (supervised or not) to indulge in the dangerous practice of setting off fireworks, turning quiet neighbourhoods into warzones of explosions, terrorising the aged, animals and stressing many people.

On Old Year’s Night in Tobago, some people having a lime set off one lone firework in the direction of the house of their neighbours, a few feet away. A security camera at the house recorded the firework arching dangerously close to the house and exploding in the backyard near where the family’s beloved pet dog, Blanket, usually relaxed and played.

At midnight, Blanket’s young owner Jennaé went to the back door to tell her pet: “Blanket, I’m going to church”…but the dog was not in her usual spot or anywhere else within the securely-fenced yard.

Finding excavated earth in the back garden, the family deduced that Blanket, no doubt traumatised out of her wits, had furtively dug her way under the fence and disappeared into the overgrown gully behind the home. She is but one of many animals terrorised several times a year by the bomb-like cacophony that is rapidly being claimed as “we culture.”

At the time of writing this, almost two weeks later, Blanket has not been found. It is unthinkable to consider the level of terror she must have experienced, having a firework exploding so close to her. According to Jennaé, the house itself shook with the explosion.

On seeing a flyer on social media advertising Blanket’s disappearance, a friend and I went for a drive that afternoon, searching unsuccessfully for the dog. We then went to meet and visit the family, to find out more about their efforts so far to locate their pet.

Jennaé (an ambitious, friendly young Tobagonian) and her mother welcomed us into their home, filling us in on the story of how the now seven-year-old dog had become a part of their family as a pup. “My aunt’s dog had had pups and I chose the most brave and mischievous,” Jennaé explained. “She was unique with her white toes and chin…and she used to love to cuddle up in a blanket.”

While Jennaé has no problem with fireworks, she feels strongly that they should be controlled, allowed only to be used by assigned professionals and not regular citizens, who release them in residential areas. “What if the firework the neighbours had set off landed on our roof and set our house on fire?” she asked.

She told us how one of her co-workers had secured her dogs in kennels on Old Year’s night. One of her dogs was so terrified by the sound of fireworks that she ripped her way through the galvanised iron roof of the kennel and escaped.

Being responsible pet owners, on New Year’s Day, Jennaé and her mother went to make a missing dog report at the police station.

This is an action advised. The more reports police receive about pets missing after firework displays, the more (hopefully) they will understand the massive loss experienced by pet owners several times a year. Secondly, police are ideal candidates for spotting missing dogs, as they are often on patrol. “The police probably didn’t think it was a serious report,” Jennaé said. “They tried not to laugh…you know like when someone is trying to hide a smirk? You know how it is with people in TT when they don’t really like dogs.”

However, despite the smirks, one policeman did call later that night to find out if the dog had been found.

“In Germany selling of firecrackers was forbidden this year due to corona,” a friend from Germany wrote to me. “They wanted to prevent more patients in the hospitals due to injuries from fireworks. It was also forbidden to start fireworks from public places. Nevertheless people must have stored a lot of fireworks from last year, so we still had fireworks – less than usual, but I was very upset about it. It should be forbidden in general to protect animals, people from injuries and save the money for welfare purposes.” When a St Lucian friend joyously proclaimed on social media that the St Lucian government had banned fireworks for the Old Year, I wrote and asked her about it.

“The Government just listened to what the people wanted,” she responded, in part.

Another St Lucian friend wrote about the “suspended” firework displays, saying: “None of the usual big ones over Port Castries or in the Rodney Bay/Gros Islet tourist/resort hub. Some private individuals setting off small firecrackers/Roman candles and the usual bamboo bursting in the countryside. No big booms.”

The website www.barbados.org states: “In Barbados, fireworks are not sold to the general public due to their dangerous nature. If used incorrectly, they can be extremely harmful both to persons or property. Air traffic regulations and the government of Barbados have prohibited individuals from bringing and using fireworks in the island. There are exceptions. That is, authorised organisations such as Caribe Fire FX who provide fireworks display services are allowed to import and use fireworks in Barbados.” TT is not on the same page as those countries. Despite the establishment of a Cabinet-appointed committee to address animal welfare regulations, recommendations of a joint select committee and the EMA on fireworks, and repeated calls from a growing legion of citizens to have fireworks regulated, our government has done nothing. Not even covid19 seemed able to get them to at least “suspend” firework use for one year.

Recognising that the “authorities” continue to turn deaf ears (perhaps deafened by fireworks), citizens have taken another route to get their message across. Many are boycotting edible grocery products distributed by people who are also associated with the distribution of fireworks.

“Hit them in the pocket where it hurts them,” many are saying, pledging to show loyalty only to companies and brands that are ethical, compassionate and concerned about the environment.

“I used to like fireworks until I got a dog,” was a common sentiment expressed across social media around the end of 2020. One wonders if the key decision-makers of this nation also own pets. Meanwhile, dogs like Blanket and many other animals are missing or dead; their owners stressed, grieving and angered. An increasing number of people cannot bear another year of senseless noise throughout residential areas of the nation – all in the name of “celebration.”

The reign of terror has to end.

If you spot Blanket, please try to secure her and/or immediately call 754-9963 or 745-0158. Store the numbers on your phone under “Lost Dog Blanket.”

A reward is being offered for her safe return.